Don't Trust Me
by SparklingSoda
Summary: He was a player; she was a romantic. He liked short flings; she believed in long term commitments. When Natsume Hyuuga, playboy extraordinaire, finally meets Mikan Sakura, the bubbly girl in pursuit of true love, the love story of the year finally begins.
1. The Party

****

Author's Note:

Hey people :D It's great to be back in FFN writing stories again. You guys probably won't believe it, but my previous username is _MikanXNatsumefan101_. I couldn't enter my old account because when I signed up with FictionPress, I wanted to use another email account that was what I was currently using for my FFN account. But because they don't allow the same email address for both accounts, I decided to swap the two accounts so I could use them, and I used my third email account for FFN first, so that I could swap it back to the original one later. It was originally a great success, but a few days later when I tried to log into FFN, somehow, all three of the email accounts that I tried to log in with _wouldn't work._ So I made another FFN account, under the new pen name SparklingSoda, and used the ORIGINAL email account I used to make my MikanXNatsumefan101 from the beginning, and they somehow ACCEPTED IT.

Before all the cynical and doubting people go saying that I'm using this as an excuse to plagiarize my previous stories (or rather, these people would say MikanXNatsumefan101's stories), I'll say this right here, **I will no longer be updating my previous stories in my old account using this new one**. For those who still want to be updated on my old stories, you can PM me and let me know your email account, and I'll send you the continued documents for my old stories via email (If I manage to continue them). Besides, there's a rule on FFN that there should not be any stories of the same material on the website. The exact sentence in the guidelines is this: "Multiple entries of the same material. There can only be one copy of any unique story on the entire site. No exceptions."

So even if I wanted to, I couldn't. After all, I can no longer access my old account. If you observe closely, _MikanXNatsumefan101_ seems to be on an extremely long vacation; there have been absolutely no updates. That's because I haven't been able to access it. I don't know whether my account has been hacked, but as there has been no movement in my old account throughout all the months of hiatus, I think that not being able to access my account is only due to some error or glitch in the process of switching the email accounts. If I ever get to logging in MikanXNatsumefan101, I'll let everyone know on the profile page. Oh, and to all of my old FFN friends, I'M OFFICIALLY BACK! Whew. This is one long author's note. Thanks for sticking with me to the end of this note. I love all you readers. (: I hope you enjoy the chapter!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Gakuen Alice.

**Don't Trust Me**

Chapter One: The Party.

It was typical of his class to gamble so openly in front of the helpless teacher. So typical, he thought, gulping down his can of Coke. Drinks weren't supposed to be brought into the class, but everyone broke the rules anyway.

He slammed the can of Coke down on his desk as his current girl toy Luna Koizumi purred, "Natsume, are you free tonight? I think it's been a while since we hung out at your dormitory!"

He vaguely remembered nodding his head and Luna giggling in euphoria, just as the DM (Discipline Mistress) stepped into the classroom. Silence hung in the air, and out of the corner of his eye, Natsume saw one of his gang members, Mochiage, chuck an eraser at the class nerd—the only one actually willing to listen to the teacher.

Mrs. Norman, the vice-principal, cleared her throat. "I'd like to see Hayate Matsudaira in my office, please."

He watched as his good friend Hayate rose from his seat and followed Mrs. Norman out of the classroom, inwardly wincing. Mrs. Norman could be a right bitch if she wanted to be. Natsume's right-hand man, Ruka, turned around in his seat to look at him, "Dude, do you know why Koko was caught out?"

Natsume frowned at Luna as she swooned a little at Ruka's deep voice. "Who knows?" He shrugged nonchalantly. Ruka raised an eyebrow and resumed his bantering with a girl seated next to him.

* * *

Mikan Sakura was not happy. Her best friend Sumire Shouda had ditched her for a date with her boyfriend, while her other best friend Hotaru Imai was serving detention in the evening. That meant she was left without any friends to accompany her to Wakako's big party that night. Damn it.

Cursing under her breath as she strode down the hallway purposefully towards her dormitory, Mikan blamed Lady Luck. _I wonder if I'll see Tsubasa-kun at the party tonight._ Mikan blushed at the thought. She'd met the black-haired and blue-eyed boy back when she was a new transfer student, and he had helped her up when she fell down in the corridors, her books flying out of her arms.

Tsubasa Andou had won her over with his kind gesture and big smile. Not that she would ever admit it to Sumire or Hotaru. But Mikan had a feeling the all-knowing Hotaru would probably already be aware of her major crush on Tsubasa. _Ah, forget it. School has already ended for today, and the night is young!_ Her mind sang as she danced down the corridors.

* * *

Hayate leaned back in his seat, looking nonchalantly at Mrs. Norman, whose face was red from all that shouting she'd done in the past two hours. "…and vandalizing that telephone booth, too! One would have thought you've learnt your lesson from the school pillar incident—you're the most terrible juvenile delinquent that I've ever had the misfortune to discipline!" She finished off her lecture with an aggrieved air.

"May I go now?" His unperturbed expression infuriated her even further.

She snapped, "I have yet to assign you your punishment!" _So get on with it_, he though, folding his arms. "You are to go for detention for 3 months, and clean the boys' toilet on the 2nd floor for a week!"

His eyes shot open, horror emptying his mind of everything else except for the punishments. "What the hell?" He demanded, knocking his chair over as he stood up.

"Perhaps you should have thought of the consequences before stirring up so much trouble." Mrs. Norman said stiffly, "This punishment will take effect immediately. Detention would be held from 5 to 7 p.m. in the evening. Please head over to Detention Room 2 at 5 p.m. sharp. Thank you." With that, she stalked out of the office, head held high.

Out of irritation and anger, Hayate kicked the desk. _Shit. This means I'll be missing the opening of that big party tonight_.

Picking up his cell phone, he dialed into it. "Hello, Kitsuneme? Tell the guys they don't have to wait for me to go to Wakako's. I'll be late—detention tonight with the DM."

"Got it."

* * *

Kitsuneme pressed the 'end call' button on his mobile phone and called over his shoulders to Yuu Tobita and Mochu, "Dude, Hayate said he'll be having a date with the DM tonight till 7 p.m.!"

Yuu nodded, "I got the memo."

Mochu merely plugged his ear piece into his iPod.

While he watched Natsume talk on the phone with Luna, Kitsuneme inserted some coins into the drink machine and pressed the button for iced green tea.

* * *

Ruka felt his mobile phone vibrate in his pocket as the gang took their time walking out of the classroom block area. Fishing it out, he saw on the collar ID that it was his girlfriend, Karin Sakayuki.

He answered the call. "Hey."

"Hi Ruka. We're going to Wakako's party tonight, right?" Came the sweet voice of his girlfriend of two years.

"Yeah. I'll pick you up at 5:30 p.m., 'kay?"

"Mm, okay. I'll see you then. I love you!" Karin blew a kiss to him over the phone and hung up.

"Love you too," he muttered, switching off his phone.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to see a grinning Koko. "Was that Karin?" Ruka nodded.

"Man, you don't seem all that in love with her. Tell you what, why don't you give her to me?" Koko teased, and Ruka scowled at him.

"What, give her to you just so you and the guys can nag at me again to get a girlfriend?"

Ruka supposed Koko was right. He wasn't really that in love with Karin. She could have cheated on him and he wouldn't have felt a thing—well, except for a blow to his pride and how everyone would laugh at him, but that was another matter entirely. In fact, he'd probably only asked her out to get the guys off his back.

This revelation left a sour taste on his tongue. It made him feel like a bad guy, and he didn't like it. Not on one bit.

* * *

Natsume watched Ruka's expression turn troubled and was about to ask him what the problem was when his cell phone rang. Loudly. Irritated at being cut off even though he hadn't asked the question yet, he picked up to hear Luna's voice.

"Hey Natsume." She cooed, "What time are you picking me up tonight?"

"I'll meet you at your dorm room. Six o' clock. Don't be late. You like steak, right?" He replied a little curtly.

"I like _anything_ that Natsume makes!" Luna giggled girlishly. Natsume wondered why he'd dated this girl who had no personality in the first place. _Oh, right. She has the curves. _

"Okay. I'll see you. Bye." He hung up before she could reply.

Turning around to face his friends, Natsume told them, "I'm not going to Wakako's party tonight. You guys don't have to wait for me."

Koko raised an eyebrow. "Whoa. I thought you would've treated this as an excellent opportunity to hook up with new chicks."

Ruka chimed in, "Yeah, that's pretty rare for you, Natsume. Have you finally decided to officially declare Koizumi as your girlfriend now?"

"I'm having dinner with my girl toy in my room. And to declare Koizumi as my girlfriend? Are you out of your mind, Ruka?" The crimson-eyed boy scoffed. "I'm breaking it off with her this week." He was a heart breaker, no doubt about it. Natsume Hyuuga was the biggest player that the Alice Academy had ever seen.

* * *

Hotaru Imai was pissed. And even that word was an understatement to describe her feelings at the moment. It wasn't her fault that she retorted back to the damned Mrs. Reed when the teacher had practically humiliated her in front of the class—all because she was able to solve a stupid question that was out of their syllabus.

That retarded woman had all but accused Hotaru of cheating when she was the only one in the entire level who managed to get full marks for the math paper, _because_ that tough question was in it. Mrs. Reed was unreasonable and irrational. She'd told Hotaru all sorts of demoralizing things (such as becoming a toilet cleaner or road sweeper) and Hotaru didn't even see how those were even related to the matter of cheating. _The woman had lost her marbles._ Then the purple-eyed girl was escorted to the DM's office and Mrs. Norman blew her stack when she heard Hotaru had been rude to the teacher, and what Hotaru hated the most was that the DM didn't even bother to hear what Hotaru had to say in her defense and immediately issued her with a detention. Alice Academy had the most unreasonable school authorities Hotaru had ever seen.

"_Your detention would be from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the evening. You're to go to Detention Room 2 tonight. Please be punctual." Was what the Discipline Mistress had said to Hotaru before shooing the latter out of her office._

_Hotaru had immediately whipped out her phone and informed Mikan that she would be unable to attend Wakako's party till 7 p.m. thanks to her detention._

And now she was sitting at one of the tables in the detention room that she'd randomly picked, waiting for the detention teacher to arrive as she texted Mikan on her iPhone.

**TangerineLoves: **So are you at detention now?

**TechSavvy: **Yeah. The stupid teacher hasn't arrived yet. :(

**TangerineLoves:** You know, I really wish you'd be able to come to the party D: I mean, Permy's not coming too. So that means I'm going alone. :(

**TechSavvy: **She's not coming? Since when? I thought she said she was looking forward to going.

**TangerineLoves: **Nah. She ditched me for a date with Akio, her latest boyfriend. :

**TechSavvy:** Well, it's not like it's that bad to go alone to the party.

**TangerineLoves:** What do you mean, it's not that bad?? I might get hit on!!

**TechSavvy: **Then don't go, dummy. Mrs. Reed is on my list of the Most Hated Teachers of The Year. God, that woman's so irrational.

**TangerineLoves: **What are you talking about?! I HAVE to go! I need to see someone there! Whoa. Doesn't that make her the first teacher to make it on that list? I remember you only had a 'neutral' list and a 'like' list for the teachers.

**TechSavvy: **Who do you have to meet? And yes. She is. Did I tell you what happened yesterday night Permy dragged me to the mini-bar at Central Town? The one that allows minors, but only those who are above 16 and who show their identity cards can drink beer?

**TangerineLoves:** Oh, yeah, she was going to bring me along, but I had to meet Fujioka-sensei. What happened?

**TechSavvy:** Remember that guy I told you about, the one who was trying to get off with me at the bar when I was texting you?

**TangerineLoves:** Yeah. It's not like you to beat around the bush like that, Hotaru. What happened?? O.o

**TechSavvy: **That guy told me I had nice legs and he KISSED me. I tried to beat him up, but he managed to dodge and get away with it. I'm still seething. But I was partially comforted that it wasn't my first kiss. _GOD._

**TangerineLoves: **OMG. Are you, like, freaking serious?! He kissed you?? That's one heck of a brave dude! Wait a minute. HOTARU! You had your first kiss already? You never told me that! Who was your first kiss??

**TechSavvy: **And he even wolf-whistled and called me "Cool Blue Sky". What a weirdo.

**TangerineLoves: **Hotaru! Don't change the topic! Who was your first kiss??

Hotaru rolled her eyes at her best friend's text message. "Like you didn't change the topic when I asked you who you were going to meet at the party." Just then, before she could hit the reply button to Mikan's message, the door of the detention room was pushed open and someone stepped in.

A wolf-whistle sounded in the room. Hotaru froze.

"Hey pretty chick. Nice to meet you again."

She whirled around to see the guy from last night. "It's you?!"

Hotaru's cell phone dropped to the ground, and she felt horror fill her mind.

Meanwhile, her cell phone was vibrated repeatedly as it lay on the ground.

**TangerineLoves:** Come on, Hotaru! I'm your best friend! You have to tell me!

**TangerineLoves:** Hotaru!!

**TangerineLoves: **Hotaru, are you there?

**TangerineLoves:** Hotaru? ...

* * *

Mikan couldn't believe it. Hotaru had actually kept a secret of her having her first kiss from her! She repeatedly sent Hotaru text messages, and even attempted calling her, but only got a voice mail message. _Hotaru must be ignoring me again_, Mikan thought, sighing. But then her eyes lit up, and she jumped to her feet, and exclaimed loudly, "BUT I'LL GET IT OUT OF HOTARU AT THE PARTY LATER! I DEFINITELY WILL!"

With her goal set in mind, Mikan decided to go the party, although she would have to be going alone. Pulling out all her dresses and skirts and blouses, she posed in front of the mirror as she held them against her body to see which one fitted her best. She always did enjoy playing dress-up. Suddenly, a loud ringtone sounded in the room, and Mikan picked it up to see Sumire's number on the caller ID.

"Hello? Permy? What's up?" Mikan said cheerfully as she picked the call up.

"Oh my god! Mikan, you won't believe this shit! My Akio was detained by Jinno because he didn't finish his homework! That means he won't be able to make it for our date! This is the worst day of my life!" Her friend wailed at the other end of the line.

"Really?!" Mikan said excitedly, "Does that mean you can go to the party tonight?"

"Oi! Can't you even _pretend_ to be sympathetic for me?" Sumire complained, annoyance tainting her voice.

* * *

Natsume stood before Luna whose legs were both in plaster casts, an irritated expression on his face. "You got injured on the night when I got everything prepared and ready for a romantic dinner?" A vein pulsed in his temple.

"I'm so sorry, Natsume-kun!" Luna said, as she attempted to sit up on the hospital bed she was lying on, but failed in her movement.

"Whatever. I shouldn't have wasted my time." He rolled his eyes and walked towards the door. "I'm breaking it off with you." Luna widened her eyes, and reached out towards him with her arm.

"No! Wait, Natsume! This can't be! I-I can still make it! Natsume!" She yelled, but the door to her ward had already closed.

The said boy made his way out of the hospital in Alice Academy, and called up Koko's number while he was at it. "Koko. I'm calling off the dinner at my room tonight. Ask the guys to meet me at my room. What time's the party starting tonight?"

"You're coming? Awesome. Hey, what happened with Luna? The party's starting at 6 p.m." Koko's delighted voice came into Natsume's ear.

"I broke it off with her. She was annoying me anyway."

"Not to be offensive, dude, but seriously, I'm glad you ended it with her. That Luna was one bitchy girl."

"I know that." With that, he hung up on the call and stored his phone away in his pants pocket. _And there'd better be some hot chicks at the party tonight. _A smirk came onto his face.

_**To be continued…**_


	2. The Polar Opposites

**Author's Note:** Thank you all readers who placed my story under their Story Alert and Story Favourites! I really appreciate it! And a very big thanks to my three reviewers so far. I know that more than ten people have been reading this new story of mine, but only three have reviewed so far. Nonetheless, thank you for bothering to read this piece of story I've written :D I love you all.

_**An important note to make: I have changed Tsubasa Andou's age so that he is in the same level as Mikan and the rest. I have edited the 'Tsubasa-senpai' to 'Tsubasa-kun' in both chapter one and chapter two.**_ Anyway, this is chapter two of **Don't Trust Me**. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice.

**Don't Trust Me**

_Chapter Two: The Polar Opposites_

Mikan beamed happily at Sumire, who scowled back. The opening of the party had been announced with the popping of champagne and lots of yelling. On the buffet table there were wine glasses filled with punch and champagne flutes containing champagne, and Mikan's mouth watered at the sight of the brownies, chocolate cakes, pancakes and maple syrup and pizza.

Most of the people at Wakako's party weren't of age yet, but like the hostess had declared, "Who cares about the rules as long as we have fun?" This declaration was greeted by enthusiastic cheering, but she _did_ stipulate a condition: Everyone was allowed to get as drunk as they wanted to, but they were to do it only in Wakako's dorm.

Mikan looked around the room in bemusement, "Hey, Permy. I didn't know that Wakako's room was THIS big!" She exclaimed to her green-haired best friend who grudgingly cracked a smile.

"I guess it _is_ pretty big," Sumire admitted, "She even had the space for a _dance floor_."

Pop music was already blaring in the disco-like room and dozens of people were hanging out at the dance floor.

"Sumi! Mikan! I'm so glad the both of you made it to my party!" The two friends smiled back at the hyperactive girl before them.

"Hey, Wakako."

Pulling Sumire's arm towards her, Wakako turned to Mikan, "Hey, Mii-chan, do you mind if I borrow Sumi for a while? I've got so many things to tell her!"

Mikan shook her head, "Of course I don't!" And she watched as her best friend got dragged into the crowd.

She piled two brownies, three slices of pizza and five pancakes onto her disposable plate, and Mikan walked towards one of the tables where some people were already sitting at. _Shit. All the tables have at least one person occupying it. Looks like I'll need to share with someone._

She scanned the area for a nice-looking girl to sit with, but all the people who were sitting at the tables were _guys_.

There were three tables in total, but the first two tables were filled with drooling guys who were ogling her. _I'm SO not sitting there_.

At the fanciest table sat a guy who had black hair and mesmerizing crimson eyes, and he wasn't even eating. Instead, he had his left hand on the table to prop his chin up, his handsome face emotionless as his blood-red eyes scrutinized the large crowd bopping along on the dance floor. It was a good thing that the boy was tanned, or Mikan would've thought he was a vampire. A very hot vampire, but a vampire nonetheless. Mikan let her eyes roam all over him, and saw that he'd a very well-built body; hard and lean. He was wearing a black skin-tight shirt that hugged his muscles and a pair of denim jeans which matched well with his black and blue sneakers.

Mikan swallowed and felt herself blush when his eyes finally landed on her, and she quickly averted her eyes. _What the hell did I check him out for? I'm here to see Tsubasa-kun, aren't I? Yes, that's right. Focus on Tsubasa-kun… _Striding up to his table, she cleared her throat and asked when he looked up, "May I sit here?"

He stared at her for a couple of seconds and nodded. Mikan thanked him gratefully and fell into the seat across from him and began digging into her food ravenously.

:-:-:-:

Natsume had originally thought that the brown-haired girl had asked to sit with him (using her plate of food as an excuse) so that she could chat him up, but was amused when she simply sat and started eating. _Her looks aren't half bad_, Natsume conceded to himself, _and that's a pretty good choice of an outfit_.

She was wearing a purple cardigan over a pink blouse that screamed "I'm the Queen of the world!" and a white miniskirt. He eyed her legs, which had on a pair of baby blue knee-high and flat-soled boots.

"Um, do you need something from me?" She asked hesitantly, looking up from her food. So she _had _noticed him staring at her.

_I could ask you the same thing when you were staring at me just now._

He grinned a mischievous grin, and leaned forward so that their faces were dangerously close. "Yes, he whispered, "I need your name, class and mobile phone number."

She froze.

:-:-:-:

"Yup, it's me. How're you doing?" Hayate grinned, dropping his backpack on the ground.

Hotaru immediately whipped out her Baka Gun and aimed it at his temple. "What do you think?"

"Whoa. Take it easy with the gun, Cool Blue Sky." Hayate raised both his hands in surrender.

A vein popped in her forehead. "_Cool Blue Sky?_"

"I-I mean Hota-chan!" Hayate corrected his mistake hastily.

"It's _Imai-san_ to you."

And she pulled the trigger.

While Hayate collapsed into a heap at the corner of the detention room, Hotaru pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and index finger in vexation at last night's memory that was quickly flowing back to her head.

_The multiple-coloured lights were giving Hotaru a headache. Sumire had forced her into a mini dress and a pair of 3-inch high heeled boots. And that wasn't the worst part. The said girl left her by the bar counter and went off to the dance floor with her boyfriend, and Hotaru spent the 2 hours texting Mikan, annoyance exuding her every pore. 'I can't believe I'm wasting my time here.'_

_**TechSavvy: **__This bar is bullshit. I've been drinking fruity cocktails for more than 2 hours now._

_**TangerineLoves:**__ Why don't you get out of there and help me organize these books back in school instead? :D_

_**TechSavvy:**__ No thanks. Fujioka's a slave driver. Anyway, I need to be here to keep a look out for Sumire. Her boyfriend might just leave all of a sudden like her previous one did, and she'd be drunk and probably get groped._

_**TangerineLoves:**__ Good point. You must stay there and protect her, Hota!_

_**TechSavvy: **__…Who's 'Hota'? I'm HOTARU._

_She flipped her phone shut and stuffed it into her purse, and someone slid down onto the seat beside her._

"_Three cans of beer, please." She heard a male voice say to the bartender. "Hey pretty thing." He said, probably referring to Hotaru._

"_You talking to me?" Hotaru asked as she raised her head to look at him. She was in a bad mood, and was definitely not feeling kindly towards this guy who might be trying to hit on her._

_The boy nodded, a wide smile on his face. "Yup, I'm talking to you—Oh my god." He stared at Hotaru, and yelped, "Cool Blue Sky?"_

"_Huh?" Hotaru dragged out the word, glaring at him in irritation and confusion. 'What the hell is this boy talking about?'_

_He immediately knelt down before her, hands clasped together as he looked at her. "Oh, Cool Blue Sky! My name is Hayate Matsudaira! And I've ALWAYS adored you! You're so cool!" He gushed, and reached out to hold her hands, and Hotaru snatched them out of his grip._

"_What the hell are you doing?" She hissed, reaching for her Baka Gun in her purse and cursed mentally when she remembered that Sumire had insisted on leaving the gun in her room. 'I'm going to get Sumire back for this later.'_

_Hayate blinked in confusion, and said, "Are-aren't you Cool Blue Sky? You know, the one in 'Beautiful Soldiers Five Colours'? The leader of 'Five Colours'?"_

"_What the hell are you babbling about? And I have no idea who's Cool Blue Sky. Leave me alone, freak." Hotaru snapped as she turned around in her seat to focus on her drink._

"_You're… not Cool Blue Sky?" Hayate looked crestfallen for a moment, then a beaming smile came onto his face as he jumped to his feet and asked Hotaru, "Then, what's your name? You're really pretty, you know?"_

_Hotaru downed her glass of fruity cocktail, and said calmly, "I have no obligations to give you my name." As if on cue, a drunken-looking Sumire came from behind Hotaru and draped her arms around the amethyst-eyed girl._

"_Hota-chan!" She giggled happily, "Tokyo said he'd call me when he gets home tonight! And you know, I really, really love Takeo!"_

_Hotaru stared at a red-faced Sumire who was giggling non-stop. "_Tokyo_ is calling you when he gets home tonight? And who the hell is Takeo?"_

_Hayate snapped his fingers, "Ah, so your name is Hota!"_

_Hotaru could have killed the both of them in her irritation. "Sorry she's so drunk, Hotaru-san. And I think she merely mispronounced my name." Akio said apologetically as he magically appeared beside Sumire and hauled her away from Hotaru. "I ordered some beer and she insisted on me letting her try some. And you know she often gets carried away…" He trailed off._

_Hotaru nodded. "Are you sending her back?" She asked, ignoring Hayate (who was trying to get her attention) totally._

"_Yeah. I'm getting a cab. Want me to send you back too?"_

"_Might as well. I need to go to the washroom first though. I drank too much of those stupid fruity cocktails." Hotaru stood up and grabbed her purse, "You can go outside to hail a cab first. I'll be right with you." Akio nodded, and piggybacked Sumire towards the exit of the bar._

"_Hotaru!" Hayate said cheerfully, his face red from the alcohol, "What class are you in at Alice Academy?"_

"_None of your business." She said coldly, walking in the direction when a hand grabbed her wrist and Hotaru turned back to look at the owner of the hand. "What do you want?"_

"_You know," He slurred, "You have really nice legs." She glanced over to the bar counter, and sure enough, there were four empty cans of beer. 'Does this guy have low alcohol tolerance or something?'_

"_What—" She started, and he jerked her arm forward, pulled her close with his other hand and slanted his lips over hers._

It was killing her. The memory of her second kiss being stolen was slowly torturing her to the brink of insanity. _How could she have been so careless to leave herself open to attacks?_ Hotaru watched the detention teacher walk into the room as he reprimanded Hayate for not being seated, and Mr. Jinno sat down and began doing his paperwork, ignoring the both of them. Although Hotaru had a nasty feeling he was looking at her with apprehension; after all, she was one of his best students in her level.

_It's not my fault,_ she tried to beam a mental message to him, _Mrs. Reed was just being a total whacko._ He ignored her anyway.

:-:-:-:

Sumire was only half-listening to Wakako as her good friend started talking about many things and latest news that had been going on in the school. Normally, when it came to gossip, Sumire would keep her ears open and her eyes wide to keep a good eye on them. But she wasn't in the mood today, and she would bet all her cosmetics that it was the cancelled date with Akio that was affecting her so much.

"Hey, Haruhi! Long time no see since we went separate classes!" A guy's voice exclaimed from behind her as a hand slapped across her back. _Haruhi?_ Sumire whipped her head around to see a cute guy with sandy-coloured hair smile at her. But when she faced him, his expression quickly turned from enthusiastic to confused.

"I'm so sorry!" He scratched his head nervously, "I thought you were someone that I knew!"

"Hey, Koko! I'm surprised that you actually came to my party!" Wakako greeted good-naturedly, "Are Kitsuneme and the rest here?"

He turned to talk to Wakako, and Sumire took the opportunity. _Whoa. Those amber eyes and that fine hair… Nice. _She nearly slapped herself for looking at some other guy who was _not_ Akio. _What I am thinking? Stop right there, Sumire Shouda!_ "Well, are you going to introduce me to this pretty girl over here?" Koko grinned, gesturing to Sumire.

_Akio only ever called me cute. _The green-haired girl smiled confidently at Koko, "Nice to meet you. I'm Sumire Shouda."

"And I'm Kokoro Yome." He extended his hand out to her, and she hesitated slightly. _Come on, it's just a friendly handshake. What are you feeling so nervous about?_

She gripped his hand and instantly felt the electricity when their skin came in contact. _Fireworks! Oh my god, my heart's thumping all over the place! _Her mind screamed, and she yelled at it to shut up. _You already have Akio, remember?_

"May I ask you for a dance, milady?" Koko bowed to Sumire, and she looked at Wakako for permission to leave her presence. Wakako nodded, and twirled off to find her other friends. Sumire paused slightly before placing her hand in his inviting one.

"I warn you, I'm a pretty good dancer." Sumire teased as he pulled her onto the dance floor. Her mood was considerably lifted after meeting him, and her heart skipped a beat when his eyes twinkled as he looked at her.

"Well, we'll just have to see, don't we?"

:-:-:-:

"Are you out of your mind?" Mikan demanded, "Do you seriously think I'm retarded enough to give someone I barely know my class and mobile phone number?"

That was new, and Natsume had to admit her reaction was rather refreshing. Normally he had girls falling all over his feet when he did that and even gave him their dorm room number. Suppressing a grin, he drawled, "Well, how about just telling me your name?"

She cast him a suspicious glance, and sniffed. "Not when you're so rude!"

Natsume shrugged, "Your loss. I'm Natsume Hyuuga, by the way." He winked at her as he got up from his seat and went off in the direction of a pretty red-headed girl.

He wasn't going to chase after a girl who didn't seem to be interested in him like a pathetic, love-sick idiot. Real life wasn't like some drama show where this popular guy went desperately after some chick who interested him because she played hard-to-get. Natsume flashed the gorgeous red-haired girl a blinding smile and she immediately fell for his charm.

"Hey. Did you come here alone?" He asked, offering her a champagne flute, which she accepted readily, leaning against the wall she was standing at while she sipped it.

"Yeah." She blushed, "Did you come alone too?"

A guy of about their age came up to her and panted, "Geez, Kana, you could have at least told me you were going to the buffet table! I spent ten whole minutes running around and looking for you! Didn't you agree to be my date for the party?"

A panicked look came onto Kana's face as she looked at Natsume and back at the guy's face. Natsume restrained a snort. He'd come across this situation more than just a few times. The girl he was chatting up with would have come to the event with a date, but pretended she was alone so that she could increase the chances of hooking up with him. That was also how he'd met Luna.

"What are you talking about? I never agreed to go with you as a date, Nakamura!" She said hastily.

The guy's brows furrowed in confusion, "Huh? But you were the one who asked me to the party!" Natsume folded his arms and decided to watch how the girl was going to pull herself out of the deep shit she was in.

The girl narrowed her eyes, and quickly made a call on her mobile phone. Next thing Natsume knew, three big-sized men came in, seized Nakamura and dragged him out. "My bodyguards," She smiled at Natsume.

He raised an eyebrow. This girl sure did know how to handle such tough situations. "Right. Where were we?" He drawled, draping an arm over her shoulders.

She looked at him in confusion, as if she'd expected him to ask about the guy earlier, but seemed to decide that it was to her advantage anyway, and quickly replied, "I was about to ask for your name. I'm Kana Fujimoto."

"Kana, huh? That's a pretty name." He said, an unreadable expression on his face as he watched her blush prettily. "I'm Natsume Hyuuga."

As they exchanged numbers and arranged for a date, Natsume wondered why girls fell for his trap so easily. _It's like they're all morons who can't think for themselves._ And his mind immediately went back to the brown-haired girl who was now chatting with another black-haired boy who had a star on his cheek. _Maybe not all of them._

:-:-:-:

"Tsubasa-kun!" Mikan yelled out to her favourite boy, whose lips curved into an easy smile upon seeing his friend waving to him. She watched him as he made his way over to her table, and felt herself blush. _Tsubasa-senpai is so cool! _Her inner fan girl squealed, and she agreed with it whole-heartedly.

"Hey Mi-chan!" He exclaimed, "It's been a while since I saw you last week!" He pulled up a seat and sat next to her.

"Yeah! How come you're here, Tsubasa-kun?" Mikan chirped happily as she finished up her last brownie. "I thought you had to help Narumi-sensei out with the decorations in the hall for the Easter Bunny event?"

"I did, but I told him I had to meet someone very important to me, so he let me off early." Tsubasa said mysteriously, and Mikan felt herself flush.

"Some-someone very important to you?" Mikan repeated. _I wonder who that could be. Since he's telling this to me, is he indirectly telling me I'm important to him?_ The very thought sent little sparks of electricity all the way down to her wiggling toes in her flat-soled boots.

"Yup. Want to dance with me?" He held out a hand to her, and Mikan took it eagerly. _Oh my god. I SO have to tell Hotaru all about this when she arrives!_ They started talking without any awkwardness in their conversation as they danced, and Mikan was having the time of her life when a loud ringtone stopped their dancing. They stepped out of the dance floor for Tsubasa to answer it, and his face turned pale after he exchanged a few words with whoever was on the line with him. He turned to Mikan, face all pale. "Sorry Mikan, but I've got to go. My friend from the class committee just told me that the papers he'd handed me earlier needed to be handed in today, and I've past the deadline. I need to go see my teacher about this."

Mikan nodded, "Go ahead. It's more important than this party, anyway. We can always hang out some other time." She gave him a sunny smile that lit up the entire room.

"Thanks. You're really awesome." Before she knew it, Tsubasa had leant forward and kissed her on her left cheek. She reached up to touch her face which she was sure was extremely red by then, and watched him wave as he disappeared behind Wakako's door.

:-:-:-:

Ruka was bored out of his mind. Sure, he had a beautiful girlfriend who had a kind personality, but he just didn't _feel_ anything when he was with Karin. A good-looking boy broke away from the dance floor to invite Karin to a dance, and she looked hesitantly at her boyfriend. "Ruu-chan, is it okay?"

He nodded and smiled at her, "Go on. I don't want people calling me a possessive boyfriend, anyway." Karin laughed and took the boy's hand and they went off onto the dance floor. Ruka decided he would ask Karin for a dance when she was finished with that guy. As he wandered along the place, he spotted a brunette on the floor, clutching her leg as if she was injured. Concerned, he quickly strode up to her and squatted down to take a look at her leg. There was a small but deep gash on her left leg, and she looked as if she might cry.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked, and his eyes widened when she looked up. Tears filled her beautiful brown eyes as she nodded her head. _Dear god, has an angel landed right before me?_ She was beautiful, and Ruka couldn't take his eyes off her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She laughed nervously, "I just fell a little. Thanks for your concern!" She stood up and almost instantly fell back onto the ground, wailing like an ambulance siren. There was the sound that did not match her angelic looks, Ruka's ears grumbled.

"Really?" The blonde-haired boy raised an eyebrow.

"Well, actually, no." She admitted. "Could you help me over to those tables? I reckon I just need to sit down for a while and call my friend." Ruka obliged to her request, and the two hobbled to the chairs. Just as Ruka was about to turn his back to leave, she called out to him.

"Hey!" He turned back with a questioning glance.

"Um, thanks for helping me. There were dozens of people who saw me fall but didn't even lift a finger to help; you're a kind person!" She thanked him gratefully.

"What's your name?" He blurted out, suddenly finding the need to put a name to her face.

"I'm Mikan Sakura. Nice to meet you!" She yelled cheerfully. The grin on her face could melt even an ice block.

"I'm Ruka Nogi. Nice to meet you too." And his girlfriend appeared from behind him.

"Ruu-chan! I'm back!" Karin hugged him from behind, kissing his neck. Ruka turned around to give Karin a kiss, then looked back at Mikan.

"I'll see you around then, Sakura-san."

She waved enthusiastically and shouted, "Bye Ruka-pyon!"

Both Ruka and Karin were stunned. "Ruka…pyon?" Karin said slowly, and looked at Ruka in confusion. With nowhere else to look at, Ruka turned to Mikan, his blue eyes asking for an explanation.

"Because you seemed like those type of animal lovers, so I called you Ruka-pyon!" Mikan elaborated, grinning from ear to ear.

Karin asked Mikan with a curious expression on her face, "Are you close to Ruu-kun? I'm his girlfriend, Karin Sakayuki!"

Mikan made an overwhelmed face, "I'm Mikan Sakura. Oh my gosh! You're so pretty! Ruka-pyon's lucky to have you as his girlfriend. And you're very lucky to have Ruka-pyon as your boyfriend, too! He's the ultimate gentleman!"

"Thank you, Mikan-chan! Bye!" The couple waved to the cheery brunette and Ruka pulled Karin onto the dance floor. In that instant as he watched Mikan Sakura beaming at them, Ruka wished more than anything that he had met Mikan before Karin.

:-:-:-:

Mikan stared down at her vibrating cell phone, and picked up the incoming call. "Hello, Hotaru?"

"_Mikan, what's Wakako's room number?"_ Mikan wondered why Hotaru's voice sounded so disturbed and harried as she replied her best friend.

"It's 204. Are you on your way here already?"

"_Yeah. And I've got something to tell you: I met that guy at the pub again in the detention room just now. Can you believe my misfortune?" _Hotaru sounded outraged.

To Mikan, however, it was an example of how fated they were. "No way! You guys have so much affinity!" She exclaimed in disbelief.

"_What the hell? I'm about to vomit blood because of it and you're telling me we have a lot of affinity?"_ There was definitely outrage in her tone.

"You've got to tell me all about it when we meet, Hotaru! Anyway, when you enter Wakako's room, can you come over to the tables? You always carry some plasters with you in your bag, right? I've injured my leg and I can't move properly." Mikan answered excitedly.

"_I'm at the door now. See you in a few minutes."_ There was a click, and the call ended.

_**To be continued…**_

There's not much of a cliffhanger here, but oh well. I couldn't find a way to end this smoothly without giving away the chunky contents of the next chapter. This update was fast. Anyway, thanks for viewing this chapter up to the very end! I'll see you in the next chapter!

And my many thanks to these reviewers: **brokenpromises04**-**ProxySoul**-**LoVE lyQ THiS**

You guys really made my day!

-SparklingSoda-


	3. Countdown to her first kiss

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Gakuen Alice—although I dream of it. Sometimes.

**Author's Note:** Mikan and Natsume moments in this chapter! Hope you'll enjoy this. (: Oh, and since this was actually an original story(but I decided that Gakuen Alice best fit the bill), I'm drawing a manga series for this story. When I've uploaded it on DEVIANTart, I'll let you know and post the link up on my profile. Just FYI.

**Don't Trust Me**

_Chapter Three: Countdown to her first kiss_

"So you're saying Tsubasa Andou told you you're an important person to him, and kissed you on the cheek to prove it?" Hotaru said dubiously, scooping out a small portion of crab brains from a small cup that she was holding in her left hand. Mikan wanted to wring her best friend's neck in exasperation. _Why is she so cynical?_

Then again, Mikan couldn't deny that she _had_ exaggerated one or two things every now and then, so maybe it wasn't Hotaru's fault that she was so doubtful over what she'd told her.

She furrowed her brows, "Okay, so maybe the kiss wasn't really related to what he'd said, and he also didn't come right out and say, 'Mikan, you're a very important person to me.' But still, he sort of implied it! And what's more, he _winked_ at me! Winked, Hotaru, _winked_!" Mikan swooned, clasping her hands together, looking as if she'd just met her Prince Charming who'd swept her off her feet.

And that probably was the case with her. _And that wink was the biggest indirect confession of his love for m—"_Anyone could wink, for all sorts of reasons." And this sentence that was uttered by Hotaru shattered the brown-haired girl's dreams in an instant. With a snort, the former returned her attention to her food.

Stomping her foot, Mikan said irritatedly, "Thanks a bunch for dashing my hopes."

"You're welcome. What are best friends for?" Hotaru answered placidly. It was all clear to her now, who the guy Mikan was so looking forward to meeting at the party. Tsubasa Andou. The teenager wasn't half-bad, and Hotaru probably wouldn't mind if Mikan and Tsubasa started going out. He seemed decent, at the very least.

"Anyway, Hotaru! You still haven't told me who your first kiss is! We've been best friends for so long! How could you _ever_ keep this kind of secret from me?" Mikan nagged childishly, grabbing Hotaru's arm.

"_You_ didn't tell me who you were crushing on," She pointed out, rather unnecessarily, Mikan thought. "I think that saves me from having to tell you about my encounter."

The auburn haired girl pouted. "But I told you in the end!" She whined. "Hotaru, you've always been magnanimous, right? I'm sure you won't hold that against me!" Hotaru snorted.

"If I'm magnanimous, you'll be Katy Perry."

:-:-:-:

"Natsume!" Kitsuneme laughed in a particularly girly manner, his face all flushed (probably from all the drinking, the said boy noted) as he ran towards his good friend, throwing his arms around him in a tight hug. "I missed you!" He nuzzled Natsume's arm, and the latter stared down at his sandy-brown haired friend, slight amusement showing on his face.

Pounding of footsteps could be heard as Koko dashed out from the dance floor, looking mortified as he saw the two locked in a seemingly passionate embrace. "Hey," Natsume nodded to Koko as he approached them, looking extremely cautious. "He's drunk, I assume."

Koko couldn't help but chuckle a little as he pulled Kitsuneme away from Natsume. "Yeah, you bet he is. Yuu and I just couldn't stop him from drinking all that beer to impress this girl he met earlier, and you know how he just goes around hugging random people regardless of their gender when he gets really drunk."

Together, they hauled an unconscious Kitsuneme onto a chair near the tables and Koko plopped down on a nearby seat, looking exhausted. "So, Nat, did you manage to catch any girls around this place?" He grinned, "I see you've been talking to quite a few hot chicks out here." Natsume cast a dark look at a pair of girls at a table only a few feet away from theirs. One of them had honey-brown hair, and she was the one who both intrigued and annoyed him at the same time.

"Yeah, it's amazing how fast I can have them eating out of my hands." Natsume shook his head. _All except for that one girl who seemed more interested in food as compared to boys._ "I saw you with that green-haired girl on the dance floor earlier," he said lazily, putting his hands behind his head as Natsume leaned back in his seat.

"She was actually pretty easy to get along with. Too bad that all the better girls are almost always already taken." Koko shrugged nonchalantly, but his face brightened up a bit when he turned to look at Natsume. "But I got her number. Maybe I'll ask her out when she breaks up with her boyfriend."

He couldn't help but snort. "What makes you think they'll break up anytime soon?" After all, Ruka had been together with Karin for two years, and the relationship was still as stable as ever. He had to give his blonde best friend points for that—he didn't think that he himself would ever be able to maintain a serious relationship. Things just got boring after a week or so, at least, with every girl he'd dated so far. He couldn't help how he felt, could he?

"Well, it's not like you've ever made an effort to really know any of them before, right?" Koko intoned, as if replying to Natsume's thoughts. Natsume blinked.

He'd always thought it was weird how Koko could reply to questions that were floating around in his head, or comment on his opinions that he hadn't said aloud. _Is he a mind reader?_ Not bothering to answer the blonde, he merely relaxed and watched his surroundings as the time went by slowly.

:-:-:-:

"Hey, girls." Sumire greeted her best friends as she slid down onto the chair next to Hotaru. "How's it going?" The feel of Koko's gentle and warm hands still lingered on her palms, and she was doing her best to get rid of it.

"Hey Permy," Mikan cheered, looking slightly drunk with her red cheeks. Hotaru nodded her head in acknowledgement.

_How the hell did I end up obsessing over some guy I just met when we merely danced for the short duration of two songs?_ She cringed at her thoughts and stared down at her mobile phone, which now consisted of a new contact—one whose name was Kokoro Yome.

Hotaru's voice broke her train of thoughts and she snapped her head up, "Huh? Sorry, Hotaru. I didn't catch what you were saying."

"I said, did you find that Kokoro Yome—the guy who was dancing with you earlier—more attractive than Akio Kawajima?" There was a tinge of impatience and annoyance in her tone, no doubt incurred by Sumire's slow uptake.

The latter stared at Hotaru, partly out of horror and partly out of shock. "H-how did you know his name? And how did you know I was thinking about him?" The last sentence was blurted out and Sumire clamped her hands to her mouth, looking mortified.

Hotaru rolled her eyes as Mikan giggled. "I know everything. _You_ know that." Slight arrogance was etched into Hotaru's face, but it was normal.

"So, you liked him, eh?" Mikan teased, propping her elbows up on the table. "Are you planning to ditch Akio-san to go out with Yome-san?" Sumire was horrified by her lack of tactlessness.

Clearing her throat, she sat upright in her seat and said indignantly, "I am most certainly not going to dump my boyfriend of one year just to go out with some dude I barely know!"

"You've danced with him for at least eight minutes," Hotaru pointed out.

Mikan chimed in, "_And_ it's so obvious you're utterly smitten by him." Little did Mikan know, 'smitten' was an understatement. 'Obsessed' would have been a better word. Not that she needed to know, Sumire reflected grimly.

"How is eight minutes supposed to be long enough for me to know him? And I am not smitten with him! I have Akio, for goodness's sake!" Sumire cried exasperatedly. Then she slouched from her upright position and her head flopped onto the table. Mikan frowned at her question, and then gave Hotaru an I-have-absolutely-no-idea-how-to-answer-that look.

Hotaru merely scooped up a large portion of crab brains with her spoon, and shrugged. "He's Kokoro Yome. That's his style. You don't ask me that. You ask _him_." As Sumire laid her head down onto the icy-cool table surface and listened to Mikan yakking about random things to Hotaru, she vaguely wondered how Hotaru even knew Koko. _I suppose she_ does_ know everything, but this is just too scary._ It was true that within the space of eight minutes, Koko had found out about her favourite movies, colour, hobbies, etcetera, etcetera. And she had also learnt many things about him.

Shocking, really. It wasn't as if she opened her heart up to every single stranger she'd ever met. Maybe he really did have a way to wheedle information out of people.

A vibration from her black bag informed Sumire she'd just received a text message. Fishing her mobile phone out, she saw, with a lurch in her stomach, that Koko had just sent her a message.

_One new text message_

_Sender: Kokoro Yome_

She opened the text.

_From: Kokoro Yome_

_Message: Hey Permy. :D How's the party? You having fun? Ps. I'm sitting at the table next to yours._

Sumire's eyes twitched at the usage of the nickname 'Permy', and glanced over to affirm that he was indeed sitting at the table to her right. Koko raised his left hand and waved, and she scowled at him. _When the hell did I ever tell him he could call me Permy?_

_To: Kokoro Yome_

_Message: When did I ever permit you to call me 'Permy'? It's fine. Hey, how did you get to know Hotaru?_

She clicked the 'send' button. She barely had to wait for more than one minute when his reply came.

_From: Kokoro Yome_

_Message: Aw, admit it. You like it when I call you Permy. It gives us a sense of friendship. You mean Hotaru Imai? The Ice Queen of Alice Academy? Don't know her personally. But she sounds scary, from all the rumors I've heard. Why?_

Sumire stared incredulously at her mobile phone screen. He didn't _know_ Hotaru? Then how did Hotaru know him? "Uh, Hotaru?" She prompted, preparing herself to ask a question she thought she already knew what Hotaru's answer would be to anyway, and the said girl lifted her head up from her plateful of pizzas, with a skillfully plucked eyebrow arched.

"Yeah?"

"How did you know Kokoro Yome?"

Hotaru paused, and looked Sumire directly in the eye before smirking. "I have my ways." Sumire couldn't stop herself from shuddering at the evil look in her purple-eyed friend.

:-:-:-:

Mikan felt very disturbed. From the moment he'd sat down at the table next to theirs with his two friends and exchanged a few words with his sandy-blonde haired friend (whom Hotaru had told her was the Kokoro Yome that Sumire was smitten with), he'd been staring at her _non-stop_. To say that she was freaked out was the understatement of the century. She was more like psychologically traumatized and scarred for life. _Natsume Hyuuga_. The boy who had tried to flirt with her unsuccessfully and left when he decided it wasn't worth spending his evening trying to wriggle her name out of her. He was leaning back in his seat and eyeing her with undisguised interest.

_Ew. I am _not_ a piece of delicious and tantalizing meat. I wish he'd stop looking at me like that._ Mikan gagged as she glanced at him. Natsume smirked when she looked his way, and gave her a small wave. Okay, so he was hot. And the shirt he was currently wearing was just showing off his well-built body, and making her salivating. _WAIT A MINUTE. REWIND. _Did she just admit to herself that he was making her salivating? Horrorstruck, she pinched her skin mercilessly and howled when it was evident that she was _not_ dreaming. Hotaru shot her an amused look.

"Mikan, are you interested in Natsume Hyuuga? You've been staring at him for at least five minutes now." Mikan gawked openly at her best friend.

"Hotaru! How do you even _know_ his name? Are you an all-knowing alien from outer space?" Mikan wailed, grabbing Hotaru by her shoulders and shaking her.

Annoyed, the latter slapped her hands away and shot her head with her infamous Baka gun. "Stop all that drooling over me." Hotaru snapped, "Natsume Hyuuga is practically famous in Alice Academy for being a player. Heck, _Sumire_ knows him." The green-haired girl raised her head to look at Hotaru, her eyes twinkling.

"Did you just mention _Natsume Hyuuga_?" Mikan could've sworn she saw that spot of drool coming from Sumire's mouth. "He is _so_ fit."

Hotaru, at this point, lifted both her hands so that her palms were facing up in the ceiling, and gave a sigh, as if Mikan was just so unaware of so many things, "See?"

Mikan did not. "Hotaru! You shouldn't be so unsupportive of your best friend!" She wailed, clutching at the said girl's arm, "He tried to hit on _me_ earlier!" Had Sumire been here, she was sure that she would have screamed the house down at this revelation. But the girl was already well on her way to the restroom and out of earshot.

"What did he say to you?" Mikan was startled by the tone of curiosity in Hotaru's voice.

:-:-:-:

"Uh, he demanded for my name, class and mobile phone number. I refused because he was a stranger—I mean, Hotaru, I've been given _dozens_ of talk since little to never give any of my personal information to a total stranger and here he was, _demanding_ for the most important ones of them all!—and he stalked off." Hotaru refrained from pointing out that a school mate of the same age was barely considered 'a _total_ stranger'. But this was Mikan she was talking to here, so she decided to cut her some slack, and instead nodded her head in what she hoped was in an approving manner.

"You were right not to give him your personal information," she started, _although they weren't for the right reasons. The main reason is because he would probably steal your heart and smash it under his foot. _Instantly, Mikan's eyes sparkled in happiness at her best friend's approval.

"Oh, Hotaru!" She exclaimed, diving into her best friend and almost making them collapse onto the floor as she hugged Hotaru tightly in her arms. "I love you!" Her declaration of love was not missed by several passers-by, and they stared at the two weirdly, but hesitated to say anything because of Hotaru's piercing glare that could kill anyone.

"Mikan, you idiot." She grumbled, and stood up to dust herself.

"But you love me anyway." The cheek was not missed and Hotaru knew it to be true. So she cracked a smile at the statement.

:-:-:-:

The golden rule in their gang was to never, _ever_ snatch one of your mate's girl. It had happened before, back when they were a group of eight instead of seven (the current gang consisted of Natsume, Ruka, Koko, Kitsuneme, Mochu, Yuu and Hayate), and they had a friend called Akira Tonouchi, a renowned womanizer who stole girls who were already attached from their boyfriends. The gang never really minded, seeing as he never stole any one of _theirs_, but all that changed when Koko started dating this girl who had a really impressive figure and one of the prettiest faces that Yuu had ever seen. Her name was Yamabuki Mai.

Koko had really fallen in love with her, and he didn't even mind when the others started to tease him about being utterly whipped. But all those fond memories came to a quick end when Tono just _stole_ her right out from under Koko's nose, and was caught making out with her in an empty classroom one day. Koko was broken and spent more than a year wallowing in his own misery, and even Natsume had tried to cheer him up. Tono was beaten up in an alley just outside Central Town and reduced to a bloody lump on the ground. He transferred out the next day and nobody ever saw him again.

Stealing your buddy's girlfriend was just low and everyone viewed it the same way. So that was why Yuu found himself surprised when he spotted both Ruka and Natsume showing way too much interest in the same girl when he was relaxing in a spot at the corner of the room. If both of them ended up falling for the same girl, there was no doubt that chaos would ensue.

"Hey." A familiar voice nudged Yuu out of his reverie and he looked up to see Mochu offering him a can of beer.

"Thanks, Mochu." He grinned at his bald-headed friend and accepted the can. As he opened it and took a long swig, Mochu leaned back on the same wall Yuu was relaxing against. "You tired or something?" Yuu asked. Mochu was a huge party animal and it was rare to see him just sitting back and watch people party the place down.

"Nah. Have I ever?" Mochu grinned. "It's just that the lights are making me dizzy." Suddenly, he squinted his eyes and bent down to observe the crowd, "Hey, is it me or are people stripping on the dance floor?"

Yuu followed his gaze, and nearly choked on his beer to see a nearly naked girl with double Ds grinding her body along to the music with her also almost naked male partner.

"Holy shit, dude."

:-:-:-:

Karin had gotten utterly wasted within the space of thirty minutes, and Ruka Nogi had a hard time tugging her away from the drinks. "I want to drink some more, Ruu!" She slurred, with her cheeks red and her green eyes squinted as she looked at him. "You…look hot tonight." She muttered, and Ruka felt his cheeks turn pink when she slid her leg up his. Hormones were a troublesome thing, and he didn't particularly want to end up having sex with her in front of everyone.

Quickly, he carried her up from the floor with her knees and back resting against his hands—bridal-style and excused himself politely from the party. Wakako was most understanding when she saw a drunken Karin in his arms, and opened the door for him. Ruka carried his girlfriend all the way down the corridors of the dormitory, taking special care to avoid the field of vision of all the security guards who were patrolling the area that night.

Finally, when they reached her room, he fished out the duplicated key Karin had given him on their first anniversary, and unlocked the door. He carefully laid her down on her double-star bed and filled her water jug, placing it on her nightstand in case she woke up in the middle of the night, all dehydrated. "I'm going off now, Karin," He said to the unconscious girl, who murmured something incoherent.

But as he turned around to leave the room, she suddenly said aloud, "Ruka!" The said boy bent over his head to look at her, and Karin sat up from her bed, pulled him down and pressed her lips to his. They kissed for nearly fifteen seconds and she broke off, gasping for air. Then she smiled at him sweetly before falling back onto her quilt. "That was my goodnight kiss. Bye, Ruu-chan." And she fell asleep. Ruka straightened up, and tucked her in before stepping out of her doorway. _Girls._

By the time he returned to the party, it was twelve-thirty and the music was even louder than before. "Oi, Ruka!" Koko waved to him, and beckoned for him to go over to sit with him and Natsume. Ruka rose an eyebrow at the sleeping Kitsuneme as he strode over to the table.

"Hey." Natsume nodded at him. "How did you get Sakayuki off your back?"

Ruka frowned at the way Natsume made it sound like Karin was harassing him, and shrugged. "She got drunk, so I brought her back to her room. Found anyone you're particularly interested in yet?"

Natsume smirked a little. "Maybe." But his glance at a table gave him away, and as Ruka turned his head to see who his best friend was looking at, his heart sank. _Mikan Sakura_. She was definitely capable of capturing Natsume's attention, what with her looks and attitude. "You're interested in Mikan Sakura?" He blurted out, albeit too loudly, and as Natsume rose his eyebrows, Mikan at the other table gawped at the trio.

:-:-:-:

Mikan's jaw dropped, and she turned to Hotaru, a shocked expression on her face. "H-Hotaru, did you hear that?" She exclaimed, holding her head in her hands and grimaced when Natsume shot her an amused smirk and a wave. "Ruka-pyon just said Hyuuga's interested in me!"

Hotaru paused. "How do you know Nogi?"

The brown-haired girl grinned, not noticing the slight surprise in Hotaru's expression, "I fell down earlier, remember? Ruka-pyon was the one who helped me to this table!" She cheered, and proceeded to call out, "RUKA-PYOOOOON!"

Ruka whipped his head around, and the brunette waved excitedly at him. He sent her a strained smile and waved back. Mikan turned back to Hotaru, and whined, "I still can't believe he's friends with Natsume Hyuuga!"

:-:-:-:

"So apparently you know her, and judging by the tone of your voice, you sound like you're pretty into her." Natsume almost sounded accusing.

"I'm not!" Ruka protested, turning red, "I already have Karin! I won't fall for Sakura!" But the second he said the sentence, he immediately regretted it. But he faced Natsume defiantly, and the latter merely shrugged.

"If you say so. Since you aren't interested in her, introduce me. Because I am." Ruka swallowed at the dangerous smirk on his best friend's face.

The hard lump in his throat refused to go away and his mouth felt dry as he said, "Fine." But as he and Natsume strolled over to the table, he wondered why there was such a hot, bubbling sensation at the pit of his stomach if he didn't really care. _Shit. How did things ever turn out this way?_

:-:-:-:

"Hey, Sakura-san." Ruka greeted Mikan nervously, and as his eyes fell on Hotaru, they widened. Looking at her closely, he said slowly, "Hey…"

Hotaru merely shot him a blank stare. "I don't know you." She said bluntly. On catching Mikan's disbelieving look (she _had_ mentioned Nogi's surname after all), she corrected, "I don't know you personally." And she immediately dropped back down onto her seat to resume her activities on her PDA. Ruka furrowed his eyebrows. _Hotaru…_

"Hi Ruka-pyon." Mikan said cheerily, "Where's Karin-chan?" But the instant she saw Natsume, her face fell. "Oh," she said stiffly, "it's you."

Ruka looked at her in surprise, "You know Natsume?"

"He asked for my mobile phone number and class when I didn't even know him, Ruka-pyon!" Mikan complained, "How could someone as nice as you have someone like him as your friend?"

Natsume cleared his throat. "Best friend, actually." Ruka glanced at him. _So he _IS_ interested in her. Natsume normally wouldn't have to bother with asking girls for their numbers—they would just give it to him voluntarily._

"Natsume is actually here to make up for his rudeness, actually," The blonde explained. Natsume shot him an incredulous look, and the former stared back with a follow-my-lead-because-I'm-helping-you look.

Natsume rolled his eyes, then stepped out from behind Ruka, bowing to Mikan before extending a hand. "Would you care for a dance with me, milady? I apologise for my inappropriate behaviour from earlier."

:-:-:-:

Mikan's eyes widened at the sudden change in his demeanor. _What's with this…?_

"She's not dancing with you." A sharp voice snapped, and she looked back to see an annoyed Hotaru, a vein pulsing in her temple. A clear sign that she was pissed, Mikan noted. "I'm not letting you have the chance to hurt Mikan." _Hotaru…?_

His look was almost dismissive. "I won't hurt her."

"Bullshit." Hotaru spat, her amethyst eyes turning darker by every second. "Biggest playboy in Alice Academy. Hooked up with almost more than half the girls in school. 15 years old. Natsume Hyuuga. If you want me to believe you won't hurt her, you'll have to castrate yourself first."

Fire could practically be seen in Natsume's eyes. "Imai, just because we—"

But Ruka stepped forward, and gently nudged Hotaru's arm, "Come on, Hotaru. It's just one dance. No strings attached." Hotaru snatched her arm away.

"Don't touch me. And it's Imai-san to you."

Mikan almost froze in shock. _Ruka knows Hotaru? But Hotaru knows Ruka too… But didn't Hotaru just say she didn't know Ruka? I don't get this. _She opened her mouth to start, "Hota-"

"Fine." Hotaru cut across her sentence, "One dance. But that's all." Her eyes locked onto Mikan's, and she nodded. But as she brushed past them, Mikan could've sworn she heard Hotaru whisper in her ear.

"Be careful, Mikan."

"Okay," Mikan decided, "Since Hotaru gave me her approval, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to just have one dance with you." She grasped his outstretched hand, and blinked as a rush of adrenaline coursed through her body. _Whoa._ Upon seeing her hesitation, Natsume whisked her off to the dance floor.

:-:-:-:

Ruka watched the two move towards the dance floor hand-in-hand, and told himself firmly, _It doesn't matter how you feel. You have Karin, and Natsume is interested in Mikan. Period. You cannot fall for your best friend's love interest. Impossible._ He repeated the sentence in his head for a few more times until he felt more at peace, and headed back to where Koko was trying to pry Kitsuneme off him.

_Mikan's an impossible target. All I have to do is to remember that._

:-:-:-:

As much as she hated to admit it, Natsume was a good dancer. He hadn't even tried to touch her inappropriately even once, and his every movement was done smoothly. Mikan was beginning to enjoy herself.

"You know, you're a pretty good dancer." She complimented him as they moved in sync to the music.

His smirk was addicting. She wanted to keep seeing it. "You're not too bad yourself. Was that blue-haired guy your boyfriend?"

Mikan couldn't help but sigh wistfully. "I wish. But I'm not even sure if he views me as anything more than a friend."

Natsume looked like he couldn't find any words to continue to conversation, so he kept up with the silence as they continued to dancing. Suddenly, Mikan found herself falling towards Natsume as a hard impact hit her back. The girl who'd crashed into her because she tripped yelled out, "Oops! Sorry!" But Mikan had already fallen to the ground with Natsume under her.

The next thing she knew, Mikan found her lips locked to Natsume's.

_**To be continued…**_

**Author's Notes: **Sorry for the long wait! But I hope this at least made up for it. See? I wasn't slacking- not really. Oh yeah, my exams are finally over! Which means I can focus more on stories and drawing manga now! Woo hoo! :D Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Constructive criticisms are welcome. I love all of your reviews.

_A big thank you to my reviewers for chapter 2_ (I'll be replying here to those I didn't manage to reply using the 'review reply' button):

**SakuraPetals13**** – **Thanks :D I think he's cute too. Natsume FOREVER.

**Amethyst Mae**** –** Well, your wait is over. Welcome to Chapter 3 of **Don't Trust Me**.

**beavermeadowsbev**** – **Thanks, I couldn't wait for it either.

**Karin-Kazune**

**Annyxoxo**** – **Thanks for the review!

**fire-flyzzz**** – **Aw, thanks, Heng! :D I kind of liked Chapter 3. (:

**Ruby Romance**

**XxblackwingsxX**

**natsu''ruka**

**One Heartbeat**

**acrianz**

**.Spazz**


	4. Never trust a player

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Gakuen Alice.

**Author's Note: **Hey. OMG. I am so, so, so sorry for the long overdue update. My mid-years just finished, and I'm crazily busy with my school work and holiday programs and crap. Damn, I feel terrible. All the responsibilities in my co-curricular activities are killing me. And did I mention I'm failing Economics, Biology, and Chemistry? I need to stop wallowing in my misery. And I fell in love with _3OH!3._ It's a band, and their songs are fantabulously awesome. You should listen to 'em sometimes. I think. But be warned of some profanities.

Edit No. 1: Okay, I held back the production of this chapter because I cut off halfway and things at school and at home are really driving me crazy. Plus I lost a little motivation back then. D: Thanks to a new review that I just received, I regained my motivation a little and decided to at least finish this chapter.

Edit No. 2: Took a thirty minute break from writing, and saw this awesome new story on Gakuen Alice FFN website: **Drop Dead Gorgeous**, by **My Fleeting Touch**. All fans of Mikan X Natsume could go check this story out. I think it's cool. :D

Edit No. 3: If you like stories whereby everything and everyone is in black and white, the good characters are always good, and the bad characters are always bad, then this story wouldn't be your cup of tea. This is a story that reflects how humans are like sometimes; confused, halfway between a good civilian and a bad villain, and how they can even betray their own friends for reasons they don't even think is valid when they look back at it later and regret it.

Alright, I shan't keep holding the tension for chapter four anymore! Sit back, relax, and read!

PS. This is going to be a pretty long chapter.

**Don't Trust Me**

_Chapter 4: Never trust a player_

Shocked gasps and whispers filled the place as the crash registered in everyone's ear. Too stunned to do anything else, Mikan shoved herself off Natsume and covered her mouth, horror etched on her flushing face.

"Wow," was the first word uttered in the first few minutes of the incident. No one else but Koko had the guts to actually start saying something.

The brunette, who was now on the floor just a few feet away from the raven-haired boy, felt her mind go dizzy and the scene before her spinning before her eyes. _No way. This couldn't have happened! My first kiss couldn't possibly have been taken by someone who wasn't my Prince Charming! _Her mind screamed.

Natsume recovered his composure within seconds, and stood up. Shooting Mikan an amused glance, he commented dryly, "If you wanted to kiss me so badly, all you had to do was ask."

There was a suggestive "ooh" that rippled around Wakako's room before Natsume shoved his hands into the pockets of his black jeans and sauntered off. But before he fully exited Mikan's earshot, he added, "And nice polka-dotted underwear."

A huge howl of laughter erupted in the area and Mikan could just _see_ the large smirk on the damned jinx's face as he left the room. Hotaru and Sumire guided her back to the tables and Mikan slumped down on the cushy chair, misery going through her head. "How could this happen to me? And that stupid ass! How _could_ he look at my underwear?" She yelled, slamming her hand on the table, anger written all over her face. "I'll NEVER speak to him again!" She vowed, and finally burst into tears of anguish and sadness. "That was my first kiss, Hotaru!"

:-:-:-:

Hotaru couldn't help but congratulate Mikan inwardly with her wise choice when she declared she wouldn't ever speak to Natsume Hyuuga ever again. After all, there was no way he would have a chance to break her heart if her best friend didn't so much as converse with him. However, a feeling of anxiety and apprehension nagged at her brain as she recalled the _look_ on the bastard's face.

_Interest_.

It was enough to make the amethyst-eyed girl want to murder him for even looking at Mikan that way. And as she watched Mikan sob and Sumire pat her on the back sympathetically, she swore to herself never to let Mikan get hurt.

If it wasn't for Mikan, she would still have been in a cold, withdrawn world of herself. If it wasn't for Mikan, she would never have the happy moments and memories she had. Sure, her best friend was dense and pissed the hell out of her sometimes, but you just couldn't stop loving her. Hotaru wanted to smack herself.

_When the hell did I get so sappy?_

"Hi, Imai-san. You okay, Sakura-san?" Her heart clenched at the unbelievably familiar voice and she couldn't stop herself from looking up to see the blonde-haired animal lover even though she knew it was already him. Nodding slightly to acknowledge his greeting although he wasn't even looking at her already, Hotaru returned to her drink.

Seeing the concern in his stupid blue eyes as Ruka Nogi approached Mikan was enough to confirm one thing for Hotaru: Ruka was interested in Mikan Sakura, her best friend.

Her stomach flipped as Hotaru watch Mikan pour her sorrows to Ruka; the girl had never been closed-off to anything- she was as open as always. "Ruka-pyon! I'm never going to speak to that- that _friend_ of yours ever again! He peeped at my underwear! How will I ever get married?"

The urge to roll her eyes came back and a wave of familiarity hit Hotaru. Some things never changed. _But not all_, her mind said bitterly. Hotaru bit her lip at the sight of Ruka Nogi and annoyance sank in her head. After all that shit back then, she couldn't believe he had the nerve to stand before her now and pretend nothing had happened. _Freaking asshole._ But for Mikan's sake, she had to pretend nothing was wrong and shut the mouth she knew was just itching to throw out the curse words she'd been preserving in her head ever since _that_ had happened.

Calmly, Hotaru tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear and ignored the pang in her heart when Ruka's gentle voice invaded her eardrums, sipping from her glass of punch. _Just ignore it._

:-:-:-:

Natsume cussed as he threw himself down onto his bed, staring at the alarm clock on his nightstand and wondering just _what the hell he was doing still awake at three in the fucking morning._

Oh right, he was just at Wakako Usami's party. His lips curved upwards as the memory of the brown-haired girl's lips on his came back to him. _What was her name again? Oh right, Mikan Sakura._ His eyebrows furrowed as he remembered how badly Ruka had freaked out when Natsume expressed interest in the girl.

Sure, Ruka had explicitly told Natsume he didn't have the hots for Sakura, but Natsume wasn't Ruka's best friend for fifteen years for nothing—he could tell when Ruka was feeling uneasy or unhappy, even if he didn't say anything.

And at the moment, his gut instincts were telling him Ruka was interested in Mikan. His stomach coiled uncomfortably at the thought, especially when he himself was also intrigued by the polka-dotted underwear girl.

Seeing Hotaru Imai at the party was really disconcerting, especially when she was acting so hostile to both him and Ruka. Annoyance bubbled within him as he recalled how she'd reacted to him asking Mikan for _one_ little dance. What was her malfunction?

Natsume felt his eyelids starting to get heavy and he laid his head back onto his pillow, allowing dreamland to seduce him into unconsciousness.

:-:-:-:

They were in the same Biology class, Ruka noticed with a red tinge on his cheeks. Why had he never noticed her before? Now that he looked at Mikan more closely, the more she looked like a beautiful angel who'd descended onto Earth. He wanted to hit himself for having such treacherous thoughts when he was seated right next to Karin. _What is wrong with me?_

"Ne, Ruka, want to go Central Town after classes today? There's this new café down the road which just opened up a few days ago and I want to try out that strawberry cheesecake everyone's been saying is delicious!" Karin chattered on, apparently oblivious to her boyfriend's distracted mood.

Upon hearing her voice, Ruka snapped back to reality. "Huh? Oh, uh… Sure." He managed a grin at the pink-haired girl, but winced inwardly and desperately racked his brains to try to figure out what she'd been saying earlier. _Shit. What was I agreeing to?_

"Then we'll just go straight after school, okay?" Karin squealed excitedly, "I can't wait!"

Ruka nodded, an inner sigh of relief coursing through his body as he realized that they were merely going to go to Central Town. His heart gave a small pang when he looked at Karin and realized just how familiar that expression was.

Before he could start reminiscing about it, however, the classroom door slid open and Natsume stormed in, looking like he was out for blood. Ruka immediately knew what was up; family troubles. His best friend blew right by the blustering Biology teacher and threw himself down onto the seat next to Ruka, and breathed heavily for a few moments.

"Natsume…something happened between you and Uncle again?" He asked tentatively, hating himself for asking the obvious and yet feeling the need to confirm the matter.

Natsume didn't reply for sometime, and merely glared down at his table as if the inanimate object had slaughtered his entire clan and owed him a blood debt. The blond boy knew it was his way of trying to cool down before he accidentally bit his head off, so he held his tongue and waited for Natsume's reply.

It took a few moments for Natsume to start breathing more normally again. "What else could get me so riled up?" His nonchalant tone successfully hid the brewing fury that Ruka knew was underneath.

He didn't say anything; after all, it was almost always indirectly his fault that Natsume was always getting in arguments with his dad.

Sensing Ruka's discomfort, Natsume finally said jokingly, "Chill dude. It's just the usual."

Sometimes Ruka couldn't help but think how much better off Natsume would be if he hadn't met him. Then again, he could just blame _his _own father for doing so much better in the business field; the Hyuuga Enterprise was the biggest company in Japan, second only to Nogi Corporation.

He felt guilty for the fact that it was partially his fault that by simply walking into Natsume's life, he'd screwed up so many things for him, especially when it came to his family. He nodded numbly at Natsume's sentence, and resumed paying attention to the lesson, or rather, pretended to listen.

:-:-:-:

"Yes! Class is over and out!" Mikan cheered, throwing her arms up in the air out of joy that she was finally out of Jinno's Math class. Immediately, she clung to Sumire's arm and said with pleading puppy-dog eyes, "Can we go Central Town please? I feel like having a sumptuous lunch!"

"Ugh, no thanks. Whenever I go to eat lunch with you I always end up breaking my diet regulation." Was the unenthusiastic reply of Sumire, and Mikan pouted.

"Please, permy? Hotaru always retreats back to her lab after lessons. And she's never once agreed to lunch out with me! I promise I won't entice you to buy any ice-cream sundae while we're out!" Mikan beamed at Sumire hopefully.

Sumire pretended to consider it a bit, then decision made, she reluctantly nodded her head and cracked a small smile. "Fine."

"Yes! Why don't you ask Akio-san along?" Her best friend suggested happily, shouldering her backpack.

_Good idea. It's been a while since I last saw him anyway._

Whipping out her cell phone, Sumire dialed in Akio's number and pressed the 'call' button. The ringing sound blared into her ear as she waited patiently for her boyfriend to pick up, and was rewarded for her patience after ten seconds.

"_Hello?"_

His voice had always made her heart flutter and had always made her feel reassured. But since the night of Wakako's party, she didn't know why it wasn't so pleasing to her ears anymore.

"Hey, Akio. Mikan and I are going to grab some lunch at Central Town. Want to come along? I miss you." The last sentence always worked in making him agree to her requests, and she didn't expect today to be any different.

Amazingly, it was. "_Uh, sorry, Sumire. Hold on_," he added abruptly, and she heard a muffled hiss and a light giggle at the background; one that sounded unmistakably like a girl's. Sumire froze.

_Okay, calm down. Just because you heard a girl's giggle doesn't mean that something's off. Maybe he's with his group of friends. Don't go all jealous and end up being a bitch to him just because you _suspect_ there's something on. _Sumire told herself calmly, and Akio's voice came back on.

"_Listen, I'm, um, really busy today. Got a project with a couple of classmates. How about next week instead?_" He said with a tinge of unnaturalness in his casual tone. Sumire narrowed her eyes. She was always good at sniffing out lies. But then again, she'd been mistaken several times before, and she didn't want to wrongly accuse him of lying.

Choosing her words carefully, Sumire said slowly, "Well, if it's a project then it can't be helped. I'll see you tomorrow at school then."

She cursed inwardly when his voice became relieved. "_Yeah, hon. See you._" There was a _click _and he hung up. Uneasiness settled at the bottom of her stomach when he thought of how _thankful_ he sounded when she told him she was okay with not meeting him for lunch today.

_What the hell was that all about?_

"So? Is he coming?" Mikan chirped, grabbing Sumire's book for her as they walked out of the classroom, a worried look on the latter's face.

"No. He said he's got to do a project." _And I think he's lying._ But Sumire couldn't say that to Mikan. Not there and then, anyway. To accuse someone of doing something wrong, one had to have proof first. And Sumire didn't have that.

A small pout appeared on Mikan's pink lips—she, after all, was the kind who believed in 'the more the merrier'. Chatter began to surround Sumire's ears (courtesy of Mikan), and when they stepped out of the gate in the direction of the bus stop to Central Town, she felt a vibration in her school pocket.

Instantly, her mood lightened on seeing what was on the screen: _One New Text Message. Sender: Kokoro Yome_

She clicked on it: _Hey Permy. How was your day? I just got off classes. Wanna hang out? :)_

Surprise rushed through her veins as she realized that her lips had involuntarily curved up into a smile upon reading the text the sandy-brown haired boy had sent her. _He's just a friend, _Sumire reminded herself, _he's just a friend._

And she sent a confirmation text to him telling him to meet her at the new café in Central Town.

:-:-:-:

Mikan was amused. Amused that instead of having Akio Kawajima in the seat that was next to Sumire's, Kokoro Yome was the one occupying that seat instead. And she was slightly grateful for that fact, because that meant she wouldn't have to spend an hour gorging herself on cake and having a live show of one of Sumire-Akio's make-out sessions as her only entertainment.

On the plus side, Koko was a really approachable person, and was easy to talk to, too. His jokes that came out at the right timing was much appreciated and the honey-brown haired girl found herself musing about how much better Koko was for Sumire than Akio was.

Of course, Akio was a good guy. He was nice, friendly and gentlemanly. But there was something about him that Mikan couldn't put her finger on. Something about him that wasn't quite right. Sure, he was always kind and nice to be around, but Mikan always felt slightly uncomfortable with him around.

People weren't easy to read, much less people like Akio. Mikan plucked out a strawberry from the top of her cake and popped it in her mouth. She reflected on how some things were so ironic—the good guys who always helped old ladies cross the road and donated away all his money in his wallet to some charity could turn out to be pedophilic and psychotic maniac who was only just putting on an act just so he could rape girls without people suspecting him, and the bad guys who always appeared so aggressive and fiery, but turned out to be a hero who tried his best to help others when he saw them edging near dangerous waters.

"Stop that!" Sumire groused, shooting Koko a narrowed eyed stare, but Mikan could see through the annoyance to the beam of amusement behind it. Koko had just stolen another one of her cherries and placed a slice of mango on her plate, when Sumire had so loudly declared that she preferred cherries to mangoes.

Mikan was surprised by the feeling of contentment when she looked at them; the kind of feeling you got when you were looking at a happily married couple who had been married for years but were still very much deeply in love.

_They look really compatible._

Then she wanted to smack herself for thinking things like this when Sumire was already dating Akio. The tinkling sound of bells resonated throughout the café and Mikan turned her head to see with surprise, the blond head of Ruka Nogi and the pink head of Karin Sakayuki. Mikan waved her hand enthusiastically and called out, "Ruka-pyon! Karin-chan!"

The said boy's head turned to see her and Mikan wondered why his face turned so pink. His girlfriend, however, tromped over and greeted Mikan cheerily.

"Hi, Mikan! How was your day? I heard Jinno was pretty lenient today." She said cheekily, and Mikan grinned in response. Karin lifted her head to smile prettily at Koko, "Hey Kokoro-san! I didn't expect to see you in here."

Koko nodded his head. "'Sup, Karin. And Ruka, dude," he raised his voice to speak to the blonde, "You guys want to sit over here?"

Ruka mumbled an affirmative reply and the couple sat down, with Ruka next to Koko and Karin next to Mikan. "Permy, this is Ruka Nogi and Karin Sakayuki," Koko introduced. "Guys, this is Permy."

Sumire whacked Koko's arm sharply, and he howled. "My name's Sumire Shouda! Stop making fun of my hair!" She snapped, with a hint of a grin on her lips.

"Nice to meet you, Shouda-san." Ruka said politely. His face turned a little pink when he faced Mikan. "Hey, Sakura-san."

"May I get you something?" The pretty waitress had advanced to their table, and had a flirtatious smile on her face as she looked directly into Ruka's eyes. Mikan fought down the urge to roll her eyes at the waitress—couldn't she tell that Ruka was already attached, what with Karin hanging off his left arm?

Ruka looked down at his menu, and barely glancing at the waitress, he turned to Karin, "What'd you like?"

"A strawberry cheesecake!" She chirped up at the waitress, who gave her a brief glimpse and quickly returned to look at Ruka.

"And you, sir?" Mikan could've blanched at her purring, and wondered vaguely why Karin didn't seem to be in the least bit disturbed. Maybe she was just oblivious.

"I'd like a strawberry cheesecake too." He said finally, returning the menu to her without giving her a second look. Mikan smiled inwardly; Ruka was a really good guy, not even giving anyone but his girlfriend a second look.

:-:-:-:

Classes had just ended and his dear, darling _father_ just had to ring him up and give him _another_ lecture. As if Natsume didn't have his fill of those that morning over the phone. Tossing his phone back into his bag and restraining himself from the tempting urge to chuck the phone at the nearest wall and shatter it into pieces, Natsume slapped his forehead with his left hand when Luna Koizumi bounced into view.

_Not another one of these I-want-to-get-back-with-you bitches again. _Almost all the girls that Natsume had once dated always hounded him for weeks after he ditched them, begging him to take them back and telling him how much they _loved_ him.

Pfft.

Like he was ever going to believe any of that bullshit they were trying to feed him with. "Natsume!" Luna called out, a huge smile on her face. Apparently news of him hitting on the many girls at Wakako's party didn't reach her ears. "I just got discharged from the Alice Hospital and now I'm fully recovered!"

Walking past her, he replied coolly, "…That has nothing to do with me."

Natsume didn't even have to look at her to know that her face had fallen.

"Well, this means I'm all ready to go out on a date with you!" He had to give her points for being brave enough to say things capable of pissing him off. "Wanna go Central Town?" He felt her hands latch onto his arms and felt a vein pop.

He lifted his own arm up and yanked it away from her grasp and shot her a bored look. "I told you it's game over. _We're _over. I don't want to see your face again." She gasped at his harsh words, but he ignored her.

"Natsume! How could you dump me just because of one dinner?" The outrage in her voice was so evident; it made him want to sneer at her. It wasn't like she didn't know he was a Casanova, and the fact that she knew it and was still willing to date him opened up possible roads to heartbreak. She _knew_ just what she was getting into, and that was why he wasn't feeling particularly sympathetic towards her.

Too late; he was already walking away, and seeing that any chance of getting back with him was blown, she let out a scream of irritation and stomped away.

:-:-:-:

Mochiage was a bastard. A big, fucking bastard Hotaru Imai hated with all her might. Forgetting the fact that he was the one who caused the change in her that dramatic year of tears and sadness for a moment, right now he was telling the strict English Literature teacher that _she_ was the one who'd lost the class list indicating who had chosen what book for the English Literature read periods, when she'd overheard him two days ago when she was walking down the hallway telling Hayate in a panicked voice that he was the last one to hold onto the list, and that he might have lost it in Central Town.

What the hell was his problem, telling Kurayama-sensei that the last one to hold onto the list was her? Sure, so she wasn't the most popular girl or the most beautiful one in the grade, but out of all the people in class he had to pick her to take the fall for him.

_Hotaru was packing up her things in the classroom after the dismissal bell had rang to get ready to head towards her laboratory when the speakers in class 3A crackled to life. "This is Kurayama-sensei speaking. Hotaru Imai from class 3A, please report to my office immediately. Thank you."_

_Never having once been called up by the said teacher, the amethyst-eyed girl narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Something stank like the fish in the wet market. Just a few hours ago in English Literature, she saw Mochu being called up by the teacher, and with the hand movements he was making then at the teacher, Hotaru could assume that he was denying something that the teacher had thrown at him, seemingly accusingly._

_Thinking nothing of the matter, the girl had simply resumed the copying down of notes from the board when suddenly she thought she heard her name. Whipping her head in the direction of the sound, Hotaru saw Mochu talking to the teacher while his eyes shifted in her direction. _What the hell was that all about?_Hotaru finished organizing her books and lifted her school bag onto her shoulders before leaving the empty classroom._

_She knocked twice on the door, got told to "Come in!" and entered with a look of trepidation._

_Mochu was already standing in front of the teacher's desk, and Hotaru felt her heart sink. _Shit. This is not good.

"_Yes, Kurayama-sensei? You called for me?" Hotaru began cautiously, wondering where this was going to go._

"_Imai-san, I heard from Mochiage-san that you were the last one to get the list of the books your classmates have chosen for the English Literature reading period." So now he was pushing the blame all to her. Fantastic._

Despite all her attempts to get it into that senseless teacher's head that she was _not_ the one who lost the list, the teacher didn't believe her for one second. Old teachers in Alice Academy like her were always biased against girls who were always on the top of the list for the results of school examinations.

The school was autocratic. Too bloody autocratic. Not to mention biased. Hotaru found herself leaving the office after being saddled with the responsibility that was dumped onto her to get everyone to rewrite down their choice of book, and a month's worth of detention.

Mochu left the office the same time as she did, so the second they got out of Kurayama-sensei's earshot, Hotaru instantly shot Mochu down with her baka gun, unleashing all her fury onto him with the venom in her voice. "What the hell was that all about, Mochiage?" She had never felt so furious in her life before.

Nobody had _ever_ dared to make her take the rap for anything that wasn't her fault, and the fact that Mochu was the one who'd caused this first time pissed her off more than anything.

He stood up, his legs faltering a little, and glared at her. "You lost the list and I merely informed the teacher who did it, that's all. What's your problem?"

"Bullshit." She hissed, her amethyst eyes narrowed into slits. "I heard you the other day telling Matsudaira you were desperate because you lost the list and Kurayama-sensei's particularly strict about responsibility. It's just the two of us here in this corridor; you don't have to put on an act."

He smirked. "Well, obviously I had to make someone take the fall—I've already gotten too much detention this year. Narumi said if I keep up with my recording-breaking number of detentions, I might get into real trouble."

"And out of all the people in class, you picked _me_?" Hotaru snapped, "Haven't you screwed up my life enough already?"

Before Mochu could retort, there was a loud voice that resonated across the long stretch of corridors and Hayate Matsudaira came trotting forward. "Hey, Hotaru!" He said brightly. "I saw you when I was passing by and I thought I'd come and say hi." He nodded at Mochu, "'sup dude."

For once, Hotaru was glad to see Hayate. "You've come at the right time, Matsudaira." She said crisply. "Your _friend_ here just got me implicated with losing the book list for English Literature reading periods, by telling Kurayama-sensei that I was the one who lost the list. He spoke to you just _two days before_ about having lost the list."

Hayate's eyes widened and he turned to Mochu, a slightly surprised expression on his face. "Mochu, you made a _girl_ take the rap for it?"

When Mochu merely looked away and didn't respond, Hayate groaned. "Are you serious?"

"Of course he's serious." Hotaru said stiffly, "serious in trying to prevent the blame from falling onto his shoulders. You're in our English Literature class too. Are you going to come with me to tell Kurayama-sensei the truth because it's too irresponsible for Mochiage to push the blame to someone else, or are you going to side with him because he's your friend?"

She couldn't blame him for hesitating. After all, if Mikan had done something wrong, she would've found it difficult to take sides too.

"Mochu—" Hayate started, but then stopped.

It was then that Hotaru realized that two weren't close. It was merely because that they were in the same group of friends that they even bothered to talk to each other. Mochu unlatched himself from the wall he'd been leaning on, and rolled his eyes. "I'm out of here."

Then he left the scene, leaving only Hayate and Hotaru standing there in the deserted corridor.

:-:-:-:

Dinner was Mikan's favorite period. On Thursdays, the menu for dinner contained fries, burgers, pizza, deep-fried chicken wings and many different flavored milkshakes; all the things which were a girl's guilty pleasure.

"One plate of deep-fried chicken wings and two burgers, please!" Mikan chirped to the friendly-looking lunch lady who gave her a smile and went to the back to get the brunette's order. Mikan perched her strawberry milkshake on her left hand and attempted in vain to tie her hair into a ponytail.

Hotaru, who was standing next to her, rolled her eyes at Mikan's pouting expression and grabbed the strawberry milkshake from her, releasing the latter's hand so that it was able to work with her right to pull the rubber band over her hair.

Mikan beamed at her best friend, "Thank you, Hotaru!"

Hotaru merely grunted and turned away. After successfully tying her hair up, Mikan reached over to get her milkshake when a hand abruptly ruffled her hair. She turned around to scream bloody murder at the person who'd done it when all thoughts of murder was dispelled from her mind and Mikan found herself facing Tsubasa Andou.

"Tsubasa-kun!" She gasped, pink in the face. "Uh, it's been a while!"

Upon seeing this exchange, Hotaru seemed to grin a little before making herself scarce, sending a text message to Mikan as she left towards the other dinner line.

_Have fun talking to your crush._

"Hey, Mi-chan." He grinned his easy smile, then slung an arm over his blushing good friend's shoulder. "It's only been a day after Wakako's party. Aw, you miss me already?" He teased.

_Of course I miss you! And you even kissed me on the cheek! I couldn't even stop thinking about that for a second! _Mikan's inner fan girl screamed, and she kicked it away before she got carried away. Feeling the vibration in her pocket, Mikan fished out her cell phone and gawked at the text Hotaru had sent her. _Hotaru! _Face as red as a cherry, she shoved it back into her pocket and turned back to Tsubasa.

"So, how was your day today?" She said, successfully changing the topic.

Tsubasa helped her carry the tray of junk food over to the table she normally sat at, and the two seated themselves. "Not too bad. I actually aced my History test." The blue-haired boy grabbed a fry from her tray and grinned mischievously at Mikan before popping it into his mouth. Mikan rolled her eyes. Tsubasa was always helping himself to Mikan's food, not that she minded.

"That's great. Hey, you know that new café down in Central Town? They offer the most awesome strawberry cheesecake ever!" Mikan chattered excitedly, starting on her chicken burger. "I should bring you there sometime to go check it out!"

"Sounds good. So, I heard that someone ended up kissing Natsume Hyuuga last night at Wakako's party."

He really shouldn't have brought it up, because Mikan immediately turned green. "What?" She blurted out. "How'd you know?"

"Gossip travels like wildfire in this school," Tsubasa pointed out.

She was in instant denial. "It wasn't intentional! Like, I was lip-raped! We were just dancing and suddenly someone just knocked into us and we fell and—" She babbled on, horrorstruck.

Tsubasa reached over to pat Mikan on the shoulder. "Relax, Mi-chan. I was just asking about what I heard. Although I'm glad to hear that it wasn't done willingly on your part." He winked.

Her heart quickened up its pace, and she gulped. "You're…glad?" Then she wanted to hit herself for sounding so hopeful.

He seemed to realize something and backtracked. "Of course I'm glad. You're my friend and Natsume Hyuuga's known for being a playboy in campus. If you did kiss him willingly, then of course I'd be worried for your safety."

"My safety?" Mikan asked, puzzlement taking over her features, and deep inside she felt disappointment swell up in her. Obviously, the confession that she was hoping for wasn't about to come soon. "What do you mean?"

He looked surprised. "You mean you never heard about what happened two years ago?"

She shook her head. "I transferred in here only last year, remember?"

"There was this really pretty girl in class 1A back then. She was really pretty and had many suitors. Her name was Takahashi Ayako. Hyuuga had his eye on her then, and slowly, he drew her in and made her fall for him. A few weeks after they started dating, he abruptly dumped her in the cruelest way possible; he made out with another girl in front of her.

"Takahashi-san wasn't the strongest girl and all the jeering that she received from everyone else drove her out of her head and a week later, she was found lying on the ground surrounded by a pool of blood—she jumped."

Mikan's eyes widened. _Never trust a player._

:-:-:-:

Natsume walked into History class that morning, feeling his muscles ache from the Physical Education period's 8 kilometer run. Bitterly, he thought resentfully of his father who'd made _another_ call to him just before school started.

"_Why can't you be more like your older brother? I've been receiving more and more complaints about you from your teachers—take a leaf out of Ruka's book, why don't you? I don't even know why you were even born in the first place—you're a disgrace to the Hyuuga name!"_

Anger burned in his red eyes as he scanned around the classroom for available seats, as many were already occupied due to his late appearance in class. _It's not like he's never managed to find faults with me in the first place. When I was obedient and all that shit I still got the same bloody treatment from him. So I might as well do what I _want_ to do._

When he saw that the only empty seat was next to Mikan Sakura's, Natsume's anger dissipated a bit at the thought that he might be able to derive some entertainment from the girl who'd turned him down.

He dropped himself onto the seat next to her, and felt surprisingly amused when she jumped out of her skin and shrieked, "It's the lip-rapist!"

Natsume shot her a glance and said, "Oh, it's the polka-dotted underwear girl." He drawled, and watched as a vein popped in her forehead.

"You stole my first kiss!" Mikan fumed, looking furious. "It was meant to be for my Prince Charming!"

He couldn't help smirking at that last sentence. _Prince Charming? Who the hell believes in these fairytale characters these days?_ "And who would be your Prince Charming?"

She was livid. "I lost my chastity and you're sitting there _smirking_ your ass off? I don't know, someone romantic, charming, handsome, thoughtful, caring, passionate—just not you!"

Natsume agreed. "I'm charming, handsome and passionate. You can shove the other three corny words up your ass now. And yes, I wouldn't be your Prince Charming. I _can_ be your hookup partner though."

Suddenly, Mikan straightened up at his words and her eyes widened. Sitting back down at her table, she pulled out her pencil case from her bag before saying stiffly. "You're right. You wouldn't be my Prince Charming. Of course not."

He blinked at her sudden stiffness. _What's with the sudden change in body language and behaviour?_

:-:-:-:

Mikan watched the teacher walk into class and felt like squirming under the sharp and intense gaze of the boy beside her. Perhaps it would've been easier to ignore if his eyes weren't of such a piercing crimson colour. She started to take down notes and nibbled at the inside of her lip, thinking of what Tsubasa had told her yesterday night about Takahashi Ayako.

_Never trust a player._

The words suddenly rushed into her head when he spoke the sentences 'And yes, I wouldn't be your Prince Charming' and 'I _can_ be your hookup partner though'.

It reminded her of how she could suddenly fall into his trap if she interacted with him anymore, and she quickly felt herself stiffen and start speaking to him in a formal, polite manner. It was no wonder he was surprised.

"And now, please flip to page 102 of your history textbook," Yamabuki-sensei started, and Mikan quickly turned the pages, all the while wincing inwardly at the consistent stare Natsume was giving her.

_Looks like I would have zero chance of paying attention in History today._

**To be continued.**

**Author's Note:** Okay. I nearly died writing this. I spent like 3 hours a day working on this chapter, so I really hope you people will be patient, because the interesting parts _will_ be coming soon. Just finished my Chinese 'O' Level oral today, and I suspect that I might have flunked the whole thing. I was never that fantabulous at Chinese anyway.

Yes! The weekends! I'll probably write down the outline for the next chapter and store it in my computer and start resting up. Hope you liked this chapter. Review if you want to tell me if there's anything you think this story could be improved on or just simply review cause you feel like it. Or you could ignore this message and _not_ review because you're lazy like me(sometimes, but I do review when I really like a story/fan fiction).

Enough with my nagging. I'm outta here. See you guys in the next chapter! :D


End file.
